Cong MLA Dhaliwal slams AAP over land pooling policy, joins tractor march

Congress MLA from Phagwara and president of the District Congress Committee, Kapurthala, Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal on Tuesday strongly criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government’s land pooling policy, accusing it of promoting corruption and serving the interests of real estate companies at the expense of farmers.

Participating in a tractor march organised by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Doaba) in protest against the policy, Dhaliwal said the Congress party has always stood by the farmers and will continue to support them in their fight to protect agricultural land and rural livelihoods. He described the land pooling initiative as a “shop of corruption” allegedly masterminded by AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal.

“The Bhagwant Mann government is misusing the land pooling policy to collect election funds by handing over agricultural lands to real estate developers under the guise of building residential colonies,” Dhaliwal alleged. He drew parallels between the Punjab land policy and the controversial liquor policy in Delhi, accusing AAP of attempting to “loot Punjab with both hands” after “scamming Delhi.”

The Congress MLA questioned the rationale behind acquiring the land of farmers, many of whom rely solely on agriculture for their livelihood. He warned that turning farmlands into residential colonies would not only displace farmers but also erode Punjabi culture rooted in village life. “Punjab lives in its villages. If villages vanish, so will our ancient Punjabi heritage,” he said.

Dhaliwal reaffirmed the Congress party’s commitment to safeguarding farmers’ rights and announced that the party would oppose any move detrimental to rural communities. He was accompanied by former Block Committee Chairman Gurdayal Singh Bhullarai and several local Congress leaders during the march.

The protest marks growing resistance from opposition parties and farmer organisations to the state government’s land pooling efforts, which they claim lack transparency and threaten the agrarian fabric of Punjab.